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CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS 



OF THE 



National Society 



OF THE 



Daughters 
0-- American 
Revolution 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 

PRESS OF GEDNEY & ROBERTS CO. 

1892 






The National Society ok the Daughters of the American Revolution 
was incorporated under the laws of Congress, applicable to the District of 
Columbia, June 8th, 1891, and by such incorporation "the Headquarters or 
chief office, of said National Society was fixed in the Citv of Washington in 'the 
District of Columbia." ^ ' 



national Boarb of IHanagemcnt 



NATIONAL OFFICERS. 

Mrs. Benjamin Harrison. Mrs. Roger A. Pryor. 

Mrs Wm. D. Cabell. Mrs. John Risley Putnam. 

Mrs H. V. Boynton. Mrs. Henry Blount. 

Mrs T. H. Alexander. Mrs. Marshall MacDonald. 

Mrs. a. W. Greely. Mrs. M. G. Devereux. 

Miss Mary Desha. Mrs. George H. Shields. 

Mrs. Ellen H. Walworth. Mrs. Rosa Wright Smith. 

Mrs G. Brown Goode. Miss Eugenia Washington. 

Mrs Hugh Hagan. Mrs. A. Howard Clarke. 

Mrs. Stephen J. Field. Mrs. O. H. Tittmann. 

Mrs John W. Foster. Miss Clara Barton. 

Mrs. F. O. St. Clair. Mrs. Mary S. Lockwood. 
Mrs. Teunis S. Hamlin. 



state regents. 
Mrs. Clifton R. Breckinridge, Arkansas. 
Mrs. a. S. Hubbard, California. 
Mrs. DeB. Randolph Keim, Connecticut. 
Mrs. Henry Jackson, Georgia. 
' Mrs. Frank S. Osborn, Illinois. 

Mrs. Charles E. Putnam, Iowa. 
Mrs. Simon B. Buckner, Kentucky. 
' Mrs. a. Leo Knott, Maryland. 
Mrs. Samuel Eliot, Massachusetts. 
Mrs. R. M. Newport, Minnesota. 
Mrs. Francis M. Cockrell, Missouri. 
Mrs. Jacob G. Cilley, New Hampshire. 
Mrs. W. W. Shippen, New Jersey. 
Miss Louise Ward McAllister, New York. 
Mrs. Mary McK. Nash, North Carolina. 
Mrs. James B. Montgomery, Oregon. 
Mrs. Nathaniel B. Hogg, Pennsylvania. 
Mrs. Joshua Wilbour, Rhode Island. 
Mrs. T. S. Peck, Vermont. 
Mrs. Wm. Wirt Henry, Virginia. 
Mrs. James S. Peck, Wisconsin. 

executive committee. 
Mrs. Benjamin Harrison. Mrs. O. H. Tittmann. 

Mrs. W. D. Cabell. Miss Eugenia Washington. 

Mrs. H. V. Boynton. Mrs. A. Howard Clarke. 

Mrs. George H. Shields. Mrs. T. H. Alexander. 

Mrs. Rosa Wright Smith. Miss Mary Desha. 



Daughters of the American Revolution. 

ORGANIZED AT WASHINGTON CITY, OCTOBER u, 1890. 

President General. 
MRS. BENJAMIN HARRISON. 

Vice-President General Presiding. 
Mrs. Wm. D. CabeIvIv. 

Vice-President General in Charge of Organization of Chapters. 
Mrs. H. V. BOYNTON, 

1321 R Street. 

Honorary Vice-Presidents General. 
Mrs. Thomas A. Hendricks. Mrs. David D. Porter. 

Mrs. B. W. Kennon. Mrs. Margaret Hetzel. 

Vice-Presidents General. 

Mrs. T. H. Alexander. Mrs. Stephen J. Fiei,d. 

Mrs. a. W. Greei^y. Mrs. G. Brown Goode. 

Miss Mary Desha. Mrs. F. O. St. Ci.air. 

Mrs. EIvLEn H. Walworth. Mrs. John W. Foster. 

Mrs. Hugh Hagan. Mrs. John R. Putnam. 

Mrs. Henry Blount. Mrs. Roger A. Pryor. 

Mrs. Marshall MacDonald. Mrs. M. G. Devereux. 

Treasurer General. 
Mrs. O. H. Tittmann, 

loig 20th Street. 
Secretaries General. 

Recording : Corresponding : 

Mrs. George H. Shields, Mrs. Rosa Wright Smith, 

2019 N Street. 1203 N Street. 

Registrars General. 
Miss Eugenia Washington, 

813 13th street. 

Mrs. a. Howard Clarke, 

1527 S street. 

Surgeon General. 
Miss Clara Barton. 

Historian General. 
Mrs. M. S. Lockwood, 

810 12th street. 

Chaplain General. 
Mrs. Teunis S. Hamlin. 

Advisory Board. 
Hon. Marshall MacDonald, Chairman. 
General H. v. Boynton. Mr. William D. Cabell. 

Dr. Persifor Frazer. Dr. G. Brown Goode. 

Rev. Edward Everett Hale. Mr. A. Leo Knott. 

Mr. Wm. O. McDowell. Hon. George H. Shields. 

General Marcus J. Wright. Mr. William C. Winlock. 



CONSTITUTION 



ARTICLE 1. 

NAME AND MEMBERSHIP. 

Section i. The name of this Society shall be the Daughters 
OF THE American Revolution. 

Sec. 2. All persons duly qualified, who have been regularly 
admitted by the National Board of Management, shall be mem- 
bers of the National Society, but, for purposes of convenience, 
they may be organized into local Chapters, as hereinafter pro- 
vided. 

ARTICLE IL 

objects of the society. 

The objects of this Society are : 

(i) To perpetuate the memory and the spirit of the men and 
women who achieved American Independence, by the acquisi- 
tion and protection of historical spots and the erection of mon- 
uments; by the encouragement of historical research in relation 
to the Revolution and the publication of its results; by the 
preservation of documents and relics, and of the records of the 
individual services of Revolutionary soldiers and patriots, and 
by the promotion of celebrations of all patriotic anniversaries. 

(2) To carry out the injunction of Washington in his farewell 
address to the American people, "to promote, as an object of 
primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of 
knowledge," thus developing an enlightened public opinion, 
and affording to young and old such advantages as shall develop 
in them the largest capacity for performing the duties of Ameri- 
can citizens. 

(3) To cherish, maintain, and extend the institutions of 
American freedom, to foster true patriotism and love of country, 
and to aid in securing for mankind all the blessings of liberty. 



CONSTITUTION. 



ARTICLE III. 

ELIGIBILITY AND ADMISSION. 

Section i. Any woman may be eligible for membership who 
is of the age of eighteen years, and who is descended from an 
ancestor who, with unfailing loyalty, rendered material aid to 
the cause of Independence as a recognized patriot, as soldier or 
sailor, or as a civil officer in one of the several Colonies or States, 
or of the United Colonies or States; or from the mother of such 
a patriot; provided that the applicant shall be acceptable to the 
Society. 

Sec. 2. Every application for membership must be indorsed 
by at least one member of the National Society, and shall then 
be submitted to the Registrars General, who shall report on the 
question of eligibility to the General Board of Management, 
when the question of admission shall be voted upon by the 
Board by ballot, and if a majority of said Board approve such 
application, the applicant, after payment of the initiation fee, 
shall be enrolled as a member of the National Society. 

Sec. 3. All persons whose applications are approved on or 
before October 11, 1891, shall be charter members of the 
National Society. 

ARTICLE IV. 

OFFICERS OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETY. 

Section i. The officers of the National Society shall be a 
President General, Vice President General in charge of organi- 
zation of Chapters, eight Vice Presidents General, one 
Recording and one Corresponding Secretary General, •'■s i? *- 
Registrars General, one Treasurer General, one Historian 
General, one Surgeon General, one Chaplain General, and 
such other officers as shall be found necessary. These officers 
shall be elected by ballot by a vote of the majority of the mem- 
bers present at the annual meeting of the Continental Congress 
of the Society, and shall hold office for one year and until 
their successors shall be elected. No officer shall be eligible 
to the same office for more than two years consecutively. 



CONSTITUTION. 



Sec. 2. The number of Vice Presidents General may be 
increased from time to time, not to exceed twenty in all, by a 
vote of two-thirds of the Board of Management. Honorary 
Vice Presidents General and Honorary State Regents may be 
elected by the Board of Management, but all honorary and 
active officers shall possess the qualifications of members of 
the Society. 

ARTICLE V. 

THE CONTINENTAL CONGRESS. 

Section i. The Continental Congress of the National Society 
shall be composed of all the active officers of the National 
Society, one State Regent from each State, and the regents and 
delegates of each organized Chapter in the United States. 

Sec. 2. Each Chapter which has more than fifty members 
may elect a delegate to the Continental Congress, in addition 
to its regent, for each fifty members or fraction of twenty-five. 
The members of the Society in Washington and vicinity may 
also elect delegates in the same ratio of representation. 

Sec. 3. The annual meeting of the Continental Congress 
shall be held in Washington City, D. C, on the 22d day of 
February in each year, or if that falls on Sunday the meeting 
shall be held on the following Wednesday. At this meeting 
the report of the Board of Management shall be considered; all 
the officers of the National Society shall be elected by ballot, 
and such business transacted as the good of the Society may 
require. 

Sec. 4. Special meetings shall be called by the Board of 
Man agement, or by the President General when directed so to 
do by the Board of Management, or when requested in writing 
so to do by twenty-five or more members, representing Chap- 
ters in at least three States, on giving thirty days' notice, 
specifying the time and place of meeting and the business to 
be transacted. 

Sec. 5. All Honorary and Ex-officers of the National Society 
may attend the meetings of the Continental Congress and par- 
ticipate in its deliberations, but shall not be entitled to vote. 



CONSTITUTION. 



ARTICLE VI. 

NATIONAL BOARD OF MANAGEMENT. 

Section i. The National Board of Management shall be 
composed of the active officers of the National Society and a 
State Regent from each State or Territory, to be chosen by the 
delegates from each State and Territory to the Continental 
Congress at the annual meeting. The officers of the National 
Society shall be ex-officio officers of the Board of Management. 
The Board shall meet at least once every four months, and at 
such times as the exigencies of the Society may demand, on 
the call of the President. Seven members shall constitute a 
quorum for the transaction of business. 

Sec. 2. The Board of Management shall have full power to 
manage the business of the Society, to enact by-laws, to pre- 
scribe rules and regulations for the guidance of the officers of 
the Society, to approve all applications for membership, to 
establish new offices if necessary, to fill vacancies in office till 
the next meeting of the Congress, and in general to do all 
things necessary for the prosperity and success of the Society, 
subject, however, to the approval of the Continental Congress; 
but all acts of the Board shall be legal and binding until dis- 
approved by the Congress. 

Sec. 3. A National Executive Committee of nine, of which 
the President General shall be Chairman ex-officio, shall be 
elected by the National Board of Management from its mem- 
bers, and shall, in the interim between the meetings of the 
Board, transact such business as shall be delegated to it by the 
National Board of Management. 

Sec. 4. The President General may call meetings of the 
National Board of Management and the Executive Committee 
at any time she may deem necessary, and shall call such meet- 
ing upon the written request of any five members thereof, 
provided that not less than five days' notice of the time and 
place of such meeting shall be given. 



CONSTITUTION. 



ARTICLE VII. 

CHAPTERS. 

Section i. When twelve members of the Society shall be 
living in one locality they may, after formal authorization by 
the National Board of Management, organize a Chapter. They 
may elect a presiding officer whose title will be Regent, and 
who will be a delegate to the Continental Congress of the 
National Society, a Secretary and Registrar, and such other 
officers as may be required. 

Sec. 2. After a Local Board of Management shall have been 
established, all applications for membership shall be passed 
upon by the Local Board, and if the applicant shall be deemed 
satisfactory and her eligibility established, the application 
shall receive the endorsement of the Regent, Secretary and 
Registrar, and be forwarded to the National Board of Manage- 
ment for final action. 

Sec. 3. The local Chapters may enact by-laws for their own 
government in harmony with the Constitution of the National 
Society. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

INITIATION, DUES AND LIABILITIES. 

Section 1. The initiation fee to the National Society shall be 
one dollar and the annual dues two dollars, payable in advance 
on or before the 226. day of February in each year. 

Sec. 2. The payment of twenty-five dollars at one time shall 
constitute a life membership and exempt the member from 
further payment of dues. 

Sec. 3. The local Chapters shall be entitled to retain one-half 
of the annual dues and one-half of life membership fees paid 
to them, respectively, for their own use. The local Chapters 
may by by-law make provision for the collection of additional 
dues for their own use. 

Sec. 4. The sum of three dollars, covering the initiation fee 
and the annual dues for the current year, must accompany 
each application presented to the National Society direct. The 



lO CONSTITUTION. 



sum of two dollars, covering the initiation fee and one-half the 
annual dues for the current year, shall accompany each appli- 
cation forwarded to the National Society through any local 
Chapter. 

Sec. s. a member who shall remain in arrears for dues for 
three months after notice of her indebtedness has been sent her 
may be dropped from the rolls by the Board of Management: 
but no one shall be dropped until after two notices of arrears 
shall have been given her. 

Sec. 6. No debt or liability, except the ordinary current 
expenses of the National Society, shall be incurred, nor any 
project or plan requiring the expenditure of money shall be 
entered into, for which the National Society shall be respons- 
ible, except by a vote of three-fourths of the Board of Man- 
agement; and every obligation for the payment of money, 
except checks drawn against deposits, executed in the name 
or in behalf of the National Society shall be null and void. 



ARTICLE IX. 

AMENDMENTS. 

Amendments to this Constitution may be offered at any 
meeting of the Board of Management, but shall not be acted 
upon until the next meeting thereof. If approved by a major- 
ity of the Board, a copy thereof shall be sent to the Regent and 
Secretary of every Chapter, and to each State Regent, at least 
thirty days prior to the meeting of the Continental Congress of 
the Society at which it is proposed to be acted upon, and if 
adopted by a majority of the Congress, such amendments 
shall be in full force thereafter. 



BY-LAWS. 



ARTICLE 



ELECTION OF OFFICERS. 



Nominations of officers shall be made from the floor, and 
the election shall be made by ballot. A majority shall elect. 



ARTICLE II. 

OFFICERS. 

The duties of the general officers shall be such as usually 
appertain to their offices, and they shall have such other duties 
as are hereinafter imposed. They shall report at the annual 
meeting, and at such other times as may, by the National 
Board of Management, be directed. 



ARTICLE III. 

PRESIDENT GENERAL. 

Section i. The President General, in addition to her general 
duties, shall be ex officio Chairman of the National Board of 
Management and of the Executive Committee, and a member 
of every other committee. 



12 BY-LAWS. 

Sec. 2. At each annual meeting she shall appoint the follow- 
ing Standing Committees : 

Finance Committee, 
Auditing Committee, 
Printing Committee, 
Revolutionary Relics Committee. 
The duties of the above committees shall be such as usually 
pertain to committees of like character, and such as may be 
defined by the Board of Management. 

ARTICLE IV. 

VICE PRESIDENTS GENERAL AND STATE REGENTS. 

Section i. In the absence of the President General one of 
the Vice Presidents General shall be elected to preside at the 
annual meeting. 

Sec. 2. In the prolonged absence or inability to act of the 
President General, the executive authority shall be vested in 
the Vice President General who may be selected by the Board 
of Management for that purpose. 

Sec. 3. The Vice President General in charge of organization 
of Chapters shall have authority to nominate one State Regent 
for the first year, and two Honorary State Regents for each 
State and Territory, to be elected by the Board. She shall 
have general supervision of the organization of Chapters, in 
connection with the respective State Regents, and shall perform 
such other duties as may be entrusted to her by the National 
Board of Management. 

Sec. 4. The State Regents shall have power to appoint the 
Regents of Chapters in their respective States and Territories 
for the first year, subject to the approval of the National Board 
of Management, and be charged with the active work of 
organization therein, subject to the general supervision of the 
Vice President in charge of organization of Chapters. 

Sec. 5. The Regents of Chapters shall have power to appoint 
the officers of their respective Chapters for the first year. 



BY-LAWS. 13 

Sec. 6. No State or Honorary State Regent shall be appointed 
or elected who is not a resident of the State she represents; 
and no one shall hold more than one office at the same time in 
the Daughters of the American Revolution. 

ARTICLE V. 

SECRETARIES GENERAL. 

Section i. The Recording Secretary General shall keep a 
record of all meetings of the National Society, the Board of Man- 
agement and the Executive Committee; have charge of the 
seal; give due notice of all meetings of the National Society or 
National Board of Management or Executive Committee; give 
due notice to all General Officers and Chapters of all votes, 
orders and proceedings affecting or appertaining to their duties, 
and generally perform such acts as pertain to her office. 

Sec. 2. The Corresponding Secretary General shall attend to 
all correspondence of the Society and Board of Management; 
distribute all pamphlets, circulars, rosettes and supplies as 
directed by the National Board of Management, and perform 
such other duties as may be directed by the Board. 

ARTICLE VI. 

TREASURER GENERAL. 

Section i. The Treasurer General shall collect and receive 
the funds and securities of the National Society. She shall 
deposit the same to the credit of the Daughters of the 
American Revolution, and shall draw them thence for the use 
of the National Society as directed by it, or by the National 
Board of Management, upon the order of the President Gen- 
eral countersigned by the Recording Secretary General. Her 
accounts shall be audited by a committee to be appointed at 
the annual meeting. 

Sec. 2. She shall, if so required by the National Board of 
Management or the Executive Committee, give bond for the 
safe custody and application of the funds. 



14 BY-LAWS. 

ARTICLE VH. 

REGISTRARS GENERAL. 

The Registrars General shall keep a register of the names 
and dates of the election, resignation or death of all members 
of the several Chapters, and shall have the care and custody of 
all applications for membership, duplicates of which, properly 
approved by the National Officers, shall be retained by the 
Registrars of the Chapters. The Registrars General shall 
examine all applications for membership, and approve the same 
if the applicant is found eligible; if not, they shall return the 
same for correction, pointing out the defects. They shall report 
all applications to the National Board of Management for tlnal 
action. 

ARTICLE Vill. 

HISTORIAN GENERAL. 

The Historian General shall have the custody of all the his- 
torical and biographical collections of which the National 
Society may become possessed, and shall catalogue and arrange 
the same, and shall place the same in a fire-proof repository for 
preservation. She shall prepare, for official publication by the 
Society, historical and biographical sketches of the Revolu- 
tionary ancestors of members, and of distinguished women of 
the Revolution. 

ARTICLE IX. 

CHAPLAIN GENERAL. 

The Chaplain General shall conduct such services as occa- 
sion may require. 

ARTICLE X. 

SURGEON GENERAL. 

The Surgeon General shall consider and report on the most 
efficient means of bettering the condition of the sick and 
wounded of our Army and Navy, the management of hospitals 



BY-LAWS. 15 

and sanitary measures connected therewith, and such other 
duties as may be entrusted to her by the Board of Manage- 
ment. 

ARTICLE XI. 

CHAPTERS. 

Every Chapter shall 

(i) Notify the Secretary General of the election and 
appointment of all officers and delegates. 

(2) Pay to the Treasurer General, on or before the 226 day 
of February, the sum of one dollar for each active member 
thereof. 

(3) Transmit to the Registrar General all approved appli- 
cations for membership for final action by the Board, and 
notify her of the resignation or death of any members thereof. 

(4) Duplicates of such reports shall be sent by the Chapters 
to their State Regent. 

(5) Each Chapter shall elect its Regent, Secretary, Regis- 
trar, Local Board of Management and other officers, and also 
its delegates to the Continental Congress, on the iith day of 
October in each year, or if that be Sunday on the next day; 
provided, that all appointed officers of Chapters shall serve until 
October 11, 1892, but delegates to the first Continental Con- 
gress shall be elected October 11, 1891. 

(6) Each Chapter shall be entitled, upon payment of the 
cost thereof, to a certificate or charter duly certifying its name, 
location, date, officers and organizing members, which shall 
be signed by the President General and Recording Secretary 
General, and attested by the seal of the National Society and 
countersigned by the State Regent. 



ARTICLE XII. 

SEAL. 

The seal of the Society shall be one and seven-eighths of an 
inch in diameter, charged with the figure of a dame of the 
Revolutionary time sitting at her spinning-wheel, with thirteen 



i6 



BY-LAWS. 



stars above her, the whole surrounded by a rim containing the 
legend, " Daughters of the American Revolution, 1 776-1890," 
and the motto, "Home and Country." 




ARTICLE Xin. 

CERTIFICATES. 

All members of the Society, wherever admitted, shall be 
entitled to a certificate of membership duly attested by the 
President General, Recording Secretary General, a Registrar 
General and the seal of the National Society. 



ARTICLE XIV. 



INSIGNIA. 



The Insignia of the Society shall consist of a badge in the 
form of a spinning-wheel and distaff, to be worn on ceremonial 
occasions upon a bow of ribbon. The wheel is seven-eighths of 
an inch in diameter and of gold, with thirteen spokes and a field 
of light blue enamel upon its tire bearing the name of the 
Society in letters of gold. Upon its outer rim opposite the 
ends of the spokes are thirteen small stars, which may be set 
with precious stones at the discretion of the owner. Under- 
neath the wheel is a golden distaff one and one-half inches long 



BY-LAWS. 17 

filled with silver flax. Upon the back of the wheel the regis- 
tration number of the owner shall be engraved, and her name 
may be added. The ribbon to be worn with the wheel is dark 
blue with a white edge ribbed and watered, following the 
colors of Washington's staff. A rosette of the prescribed rib- 
bon attached to a stick-pin may be worn as an informal badge 
upon ordinary occasions. 




ARTICLE XV. 

ORDER OF BUSINESS. 

At the meetings of the Board of Management the following 
order of business shall be observed: 1st. Prayer by Chaplain 
General. 2d. Reading of minutes of previous meeting and 
their approval. 3d. Reports of Officers and Standing Com- 
mittees. 4th. Reports of Select Committees. 5th. Unfinished 
business- 6th. New business. 7th. Miscellaneous business. 

ARTICLE XVI. 

ADVISORY BOARD. 

The objects of this Society being the same as those of the 
Sons of the American Revolution and Sons of the Revolution, 
and having a desire to co-operate with said organizations, the 
Board of Management may elect from the members thereof an 
Advisory Board, for the purposes of consultation and advice as 
to matters pertaining to the success of the Society. The Board 
of Management may also elect a suitable Legal Adviser, if 
deemed necessary. 



1 8 BY-LAWS. 

ARTICLE XVII. 

GUESTS. 

The wives of Sons of the American Revolution and Sons of 
the Revolution who are not eligible to membership may be 
included in all social events of the Society in which their 
husbands are invited to participate, and husbands of members 
of this Society who are not eligible to membership in the 
Society of the Sons of the American Revolution or Sons of the 
Revolution may be invited to participate in such events. 



ARTICLE XVIII. 

AMENDMENTS. 

These By-Laws may be altered or amended by a vote of 
three-fourths of the members present at any meeting of the 
National Board of Management, written notice thereof having 
been given at a previous meeting. 




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